It’s that time of year again. No, not when I write my now seemingly annual article (sorry, I’ll try and get back to it!), but rather the time when clubs anxiously await their fate as to which division they’ll be competing in the following season. Why, though, does it always come to this?

All Square At The Beveree

Hampton & Richmond Press Officer Rob Overfield has provided us with the official match report of the match with Lowestoft Town.

A game that saw a multitude of cards from referee Webb ended all square at 1-1. Although Lowestoft may feel they were more sinned against than sinning, they were equally as culpable as the Beavers, and their undisciplined reaction to two challenges on their players does them no favours.

There was a return to the side for Darren Powell, Neil Jenkins and Joe Benjamin after the trip to Kempston, and the team settled down well on their return to league action.

Goal mouth action was at a premium early on, and the first real chance fell to the Trawlerboys. A looping ball from the right looked to be an easy one for Rodney Chiweshe to take, but somehow Jack Defty got his head to the ball, which bobbled gently into the net to break the Beavers defensive duck.

3 minutes later, the game erupted with the Lowestoft players taking offence at a Darren Powell challenge, which followed a dubious tackle on the big defender a second or two previously. After the pushing and shoving had died down, the referee booked Powell for the tackle and Chris Henderson of the visitors for his reaction.

The atmosphere was bubbling under like a dormant volcano, and further bookings for Fisk and Frew meant that Referee Webb had issued 4 cards in just the space of 7 minutes. It only seemed a matter of time before the ultimate sanction would have to be shown to a player of either side.

The pressure was back on the Beavers after conceding and they rose to that pressure in a spectacular way. JJ Bates cushioned a header back to Charlie Moone, and from some 30 yards out, the in-form striker crashed a howitzer of a volley over keeper Reynolds head and into the back of the net.

This appeared to stun the Trawlerboys, and for the rest of the half, the Beavers held the upper hand. Some 5 minutes after Moone scored his amazing goal, they nearly took the lead. A cross from Malvin Kamara – who revelled in the space down the right – fell to Gary Holloway, whose overhead kick beat Reynolds and hit the post. The ball dribbled along the goal line, past the other post, and was tapped away for a corner. Such tiny margins decide games and that could have made the difference to the final result.

Further chances fell to Moone and Benjamin, before Frew’s cross nearly tricked Chiweshe, whose alertness got him back to tip the ball over for a fruitless Lowestoft corner as the half came to an end.

HT HRBFC 1 Lowestoft Town 1

After the riches of the first half, the second half was a limp affair. The action was end to end, but neither side seemed to be able to create chances. Lowestoft kept pushing forward and the Beavers kept trying to break out with counter attacks. Neither goalkeeper was seriously challenged and it was not hard to see that here were two evenly matched teams trying to make a declaration of intent for the rest of the season.

With just 5 minutes of normal time remaining, the atmosphere was building again; by now referee Webb had had to show his yellow card another couple of times, making a total of 6 cautions when the game hit another flash point. The ball came loose in midfield, Tom Hickey and Andrew Fisk challenged for the ball; Fisk stayed down, apparently in seeming agony. The melee erupted again, most of the Lowestoft players felt they had to have a say, coming running from all parts of the pitch, pushing and shoving anyone in a red shirt. After tempers had cooled, referee Webb sent off Hickey, and Fisk went to the touchline under his own steam. After consulting his assistant, Webb also cautioned Beavers captain Neil Jenkins and Lowestoft’s Dan Gleeson for their part in the pushing match. It was an unpleasant way to end what had been a decent advert for Ryman League football.

The pick of the Beavers was again the central defence pairing of Max Hustwick and Darren Powell, who have effectively become ‘the immovable object’ and repelled nearly everything Lowestoft could throw at them.

Many thanks to Rob for this report. Follow him on twitter: @RabidRobo. You can also follow the club’s twitter account for news, articles and match updates: @hrbfc. Or visit the club’s website for more information.

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About James Bartaby

Hey,
I'm James and I'm relatively new to non-league football, having only taken in my first match in September 2011. Despite it being a 0-4 defeat for Hampton & Richmond Borough, I became a huge fan of the club and NL in general. So much so that they are now the first club that I mention when talking about which team I support! I just got massively disillusioned with top flight football in this country and the attitudes of the lawmakers and top clubs in general, and I wanted to start taking my son to see decent football.
I am now the club's Deputy Press Officer, and loving every minute!